Thai and Indian rice producers lower their prices as rice demands decline
Due to less demands and currency fluctuations, rice exports in Asia have declined since October last year. As a result, rice exporters in Thailand and India had to lower their prices by 5%. In Thailand, the Thai Baht currency which became stronger since the beginning of 2019 made the prices of Thai rice higher than those of competitors like India and Vietnam. In India, despite the weaker Rupee currency, the Indian government reported that Indian rice exports between April to July 2019 declined by 26.5% due to less demands of the non-basmati rice from Africa. As a result, the rice exporters in the country have looked forward to better numbers in the next seasons to come.
Thai Trade Center, Delhi
America faces sugar shortage
The Ministry of Agriculture of the United States of America reported that in November 2019, the sugar production in the country significantly declined by 572,000 tons, compared with the numbers in October 2019. The cause might be climate change which has affected the quantity of sugar produced, resulting in sugar shortage and, consequently, the increased price of sugar. The shortage has a strong impact on American entrepreneurs in the food and drinks industries which heavily rely on sugar. However, at present, the Ministry of Agriculture of America hasn’t disclosed any measures regarding this situation. There is a possibility that the country will use the sugar in reserve and import more sugar from other countries like Mexico and India.
Thai Trade Center, Miami
Vietnam’s coffee exports decline
For the first nine months of 2019, the exports of Vietnamese coffee dropped by 13.3%, compared with the same period of 2018. According to the report from the Planning Department and the Agricultural Products Processing and Market Development Department, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam, Vietnam exported 81,000 ton of coffee in September 2019, a total value of 143 million USD. Compared with the same period in 2018, the export pricee dropped by 10.7% to 1,709 USD per ton. Since the coffee price has become lower in Vietnam and worldwide, the country has reduced exports to the old markets like Germany, the United States, Italy and Spain. The number of coffee production is expected to be back to normal by the end of this year.
Thai Trade Center, Hanoi
Awamori Japanese Government drives rice production in Awamori to produce sake
The Japanese government has come up with a plan to promote the sake “Awamori” made from rice grown in Okinawa. Surprisingly, more than 1,000 or around 90% of the brand’s products are made from long grain rice from Thailand which is more aromatic than Japanese short grain rice. At present, the Japanese government has an initiative to produce the rice with the tagline “Awamori made in Japan” to sell during Tokyo Olympics 2020 and overseas. Still, several problems are present, including insufficient production and higher costs of production and processing compared with importing rice from Thailand.
Thai Trade Center, Osaka
Nestlé breaks into the vegetarian food market
In April of 2019, Nestlé launched its soy-based burger in Germany and received positive feedback. Until present, the company has sold up to 5 million vegan burgers in the country, while the plan of producing vegan ground meat is in the pipeline. Nestlé has expected that it can increase its market share in regular ground meat by 800 million EUR. Moreover, the production of vegan ground meat can reduce the production of Co2 by 80%. It also requires less space and water. In short, it is healthy for both humans and the environment.
Thai Trade Center, Berlin
Juice market expands in Peru
After the Peruvian government increased excise tax on sugary drinks in May 2018 to combat obesity, the sales of soft drinks have declined, while the sales of juices have started to grow. At present, the Peruvians have become more health-conscious, and the trend of drinking 100% juices, vegetable and sugar-free drinks is very popular in the country. This can be considered as a good sign for Thai juice and vegetable drink exporters to Peru.
Thai Trade Center, Santiago
